Amusement device.



A. P. LAUSTER.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

APPLIOATION IILED JAN. 20, 1909.

921 ,41 6, Patented May 11, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES.- Lvlzm n 11.

- I Afro/W512i ing drawings forming a part of this spot tied form of thedevice shown in Fig. 1t;

UNITED S AUGUST P. LAUSTER, OF PATERSON, N W JERSEY.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that; l, At'oijs'r P. liavs'ri-ln, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Paterson, in the county of .lassaic and Stateof New Jersey, have invented a i new and improved Amusement. Device. ofwhich the following is a tall. clear. and exact description.

This invention relates to amu ement devices such as are installed atplea ure resorts for amusing visitors.

More specifically the amusement device is of that type which employs acar moving along a guide or track. and the object of the invention is toprm ide an .t:27l'()\'t(l construction which will he very simple butwhich will operate to give the cars a peculiar movement so that theoccupants will have a novel experience.

The invention consists in the coustructi'm and comhination ot partsto hemore fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in theclaims. 7

Reference is to he had to the accompauytication. in which similarcharacters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.Figure 1 is a vertical section through an amusement device constructedaccording to l my invention: Fig. 2 is a plan of the device: Fig. 3 is avertical section upon an enlarged scale taken through the point ot' support o'l the car and illustrating certain details of the l constructionFig. '4 is a perspective show- 1 ing a modified term of the track orguide along which the car moves; Fig. 5 is a vertieal section through acar of modified con- 5 struction adapted to be used with the lllfitllFig. 6 is a side elevation of the car shown g in Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is across section through the track or guide taken on the line 7-7 of Fig.4; and Fig. 8 is a cross section through I the track taken on the line88 of Fig. 4, l and illustrating the manner in which thel track isconstructed so as to give the peculiar l and novel movement to the car,

Referring more articularly to the parts, and especially to igs. 1 to 3inclusive, 1 I l l l t l represents an annular plat 'orni which iselevated so as to be reached by stairs 2, as shown. This platform isprovided with a ard rail 3 at its outer edge, and is pro vided zit-itsinner edge with a similar guard rail 4, presenting two oppositelydisposed Specification of Letters Yatent.

Application filed January 20, 1909.

. pas engers llt wardlv.

Patented May 11, 1909.

Serial No. 473,280.

1 gateways 5 at which the passengers may get on or oft the cars.concentrically mounted with the platform 1, I provide a large wheel t)whiclrnn v he of QYC-bG8IH cross section. as indicated in Fig. 1. Thiswheel is supported on rollers T which are.

j provided near their outer ends with flanges h which prevent the wheelfrom becoming dislodged. as will he readily understood. (in the upperside of the n heel at suitable point hrzu-ltets i are rigidly secured,and tltcw lvrael-zcts have horizontally mounted knuckle pins to whichare disposed substantialtv in vertical planes tangent to the wheel. 'lhee knucltlc pins to support king ltolts It. the lower ends of which a reformed into heads which receive the knuckle pins. as shown. These Linholts extend upwardly. as slunvn. and are provided with swivels or loosesleeves 1). said sleeves being rigidli attached to the lxottonts i i ofcars 14. These cars are of circular Form. hating substantially the formf a tuh. llach car is provided with an annular heueh or seat so thateach car ran receive a number of in a eirclo. and facing lie The nouns.deserilied tor mounting the cars on the wheel is does not operate of itsown accord to hold the cars in an upright po ition. and l provide meansor periodically tilting the cars when the derice is in operation. andthis means operates al o to rotate the cars on their vertical axes. Forthis poi-pose i provide an outer cam rail to and an inner cam rail 17.ihe outer cam rail to is supported outhe inner side of the trzone towhich supports the platl'orin. while he inner am rail is supported onsuitahle. .-\iul:-1 in. as shown. lnpthe vil einiiy ot' the gateways a,these cam rails l(' and ti are disposed at the same level, and they pawsunder the edges of the cars when located near these points so as tosupport the cars in an upright position, the bottoms of the cars rcst'inon the cam rails, as indicated in Fig. 1. it points of theircircuniterctice intermediate between the gate-ways 5. the cam rails tomidi? are at different levels. so that at the point where one cam railis elevated. the other cam rail will be depressed, and vice versa. T hecam rails to and ii. are preferably slightly inciined so that theydiverge from each other upwardly. Upon the outer surface of the wheel t,a driving cable is coiled, and this cable will be driven by a suitahlemotor when the device is in actualoperation. As the wheel 6 rotates, thecars will advance and when they are in the vicinity of the gate-ways 5,they will be supported in an upright position. At intermediate pointswhere the dips and elevations occur, the cars will be tipped or tiltedinto an inclined position by the-cam rails, as indicated most clearly inFig. 1. When a car is in the tilted position referred to, the lower edgeof the inclined bottom will rest upon the depressed rail and willsupport more weight than the upper edge of the bottom resting on theelevated rail, and there will therefore be developed at this point agreater friction than at the opposite point, and this results inproducing a rotation of the car upon theaxis of its swivel sleeve, thatis, upon its eentral axis. In this way the passengers in the car willhave a novel experience.

While I have illustrated only four cars,

it will he understood that there may be as many or as few of them asdesired, and the guide rails or am rails 1b and 17 may have as many dipsand irregularities as desired.

Referring now especially to Figs. 4 to 8, inclusive the modified form ofthe invention will be (lESClll'lQCl. In this form ofthe invention 1provide an inclined desk or floor 21, the face of which is provided witha guide track This guide track has a straight ascending leg 23 and acrooked or zigzag descending leg 24. This descending leg is formed ofstraight inclined sections connected by curves or bows 25, as shown. Theconstruction of the guide track at the straight sections is illustrated8. At these points the cam rails 26 andrgi' which extend continuouslythrough the entire length of the track, are atdifferent levels, asshown, and as in the preferred form of the invention tlicsc railsdiverge from each other in an upward direction. In this form of thedevice. as: shown inFig. 8, the framing 28 is so cons rncted as topresent a guide channel or guidc-\vay- 29 formed between two parallelvertical guide strips 30. In the center of this guide-way 29, a guiderail 31 is laid longitudinally and this rail may have the form of anordinary railroad rail, as shown. Each car 32 is of circular form asbefore, provided with a swivel sleeve 33 attached rigidly to its bottom,and this swivel sleeve 3?) is rotatably mounted on a king pin This kingpin is mounted on a knuckle pin 35 on the horizontal axis, and thisknuckle pin 35 is mounted on the bracket 36 which is secured to theupper side of the small truck '37. These details are clearly illustratedin Figs. 5 and 6. Each truck is elongated in the direction in whichthetrack extends, and is provided with openings 38 in which guiderollers 39 are mounted rotatably a; on centrally disposed pins 40. Theserollers roll on the guide strips 30 so as to.

maintain the truck in an upright position. The lower part of the truckis provided with flanged wheels 41 whichrn'n on the rail 31,, asindicated. the wheels 41 being arranged tandem, as shown. In this formof the invention the cars are elevated by any means desired along theascendin'gfleg 23. Except at the points where the dips 42 occur in thestraight sections of the descending leg, the tack has the constructionshown in Fig. 7, in which the'caln rails 26 and 27 have the sameelevations. When the cars are passing these portions of the track therails 26 and 27 support their opposite sides at the same elevation sothat the cars will be in substantially an upright position.' When thecars are descending the leg 24, as they are passing the dips 42, thecars will tilt or tip into the position shown in Fig. 8. rotating on theaxes oit' the knuckle pins 35 which are disposed longitudinally of thetrack. As soon as the car tiltsin this manner it will he rotated by thefiict-ion at the lower edge of its hotton'uas will be readilyunderstood.

In both forms of the invention, the cars are preferably of round form,as shown. The passengers ascend to the lower end of thc. deck 21 by asuitable staircase 4.3 and they will get on and. ofi the cars at thelower part of the track.

Special attention called to the fact that in the operation of thisamusement device the cars advance in an upright position and by amovement of translation normally. that is, the cars normally advancewithout turning on their verti ral axes. At certain points, however. thecars suddenly become tilted so that their central axes become inclined..\t this time they are rotated violently on their central axes, but theyare not continuously rotated, that is, they are not rotated in this waywhen in an upright position. This pccnliar mode of operation increasesthe etlcctiven'ess of the novel sensation.

l-l aviug thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters same in a horizontal position, said rails be- I ingdisposed at intervals at different levels and aliorduuimeans for movingsald car on fillltl lltllllhltiill axis to support the same I11 "Uni,one of said mils being M3611 a sub" I iiiYiUQ Hf i110 class described,in

. I nv viii, in mi in ivini'o, 011 :i i'vi'iiczii (-eiiii'ai i XiS.means for n01- 911115 fol su pm-ting; mi'imnia} ElXlS and f fiiHHLimam-foii'iiiing said can and means 1141' running razii i m on said.vertical axis mzi \iiiiie is: a i'iifvzi pusiiioi.

4- ii 2: (isvice u'r' the viziss describml, in (UT I (111' E4: iuiziiknil ii ushing :1 guiding said (an and iid (ram m1 -z havingirreguiz-u'itie Hi :iiin'pimi 10 hit said cm on said imm- "ii is andnfimrding mains Eur miniiw same 01! iqi VeriK'ni axis only when incim'iu.i,--'ziid-.kniickie pin, WV 211' having a ('HlJJW'i'iOH wiiii saidking pin, and in; hi liiiikilr imniuiiiy supps 'ting said in aml'iiiiigiii pnsiiion and. having iiiiziiiiivs ivinpi'ed in iiiit saidcan, said giiiilin ineiiibi engaging;

miii 1 (is/scribed, in

LOii' L kliig pii on said iuiuckie Dim :2 cii'cuhu LOH with said kii idispussd oppositsiy to i imi iii he same level and reg ilzii' portimiswhere said i'ziiis are posed iii iiiii'crei'it els ations adapted insilt sair i cm.

T. In a device of the class ciescyii ad, in

1 imtiou, ilOI'lZUDi'iii knuckie pin. :1

2L cal support iressiitin" mmiiiimtion, a whee i1- plurality of cars :miinn :1 (2113, mm 11s fol mmmtin w'ili i \Qlill'ili AXiS and um; mi 3 V,and wini' rails disposed he semis in an upright in n liP'x'iCP of the(.iZWS described, in i presenting 1 a iiui'zz-imizii imiiikis pin, iiking pin aibottom of suppm'ivii m1 said Wheel 1.0 rotate 011 a horimnmi"(Lklb and on a vorti'iai axis, and cam miis nornmliy suppm'i'ing saidcars in an upright gosii'inn and having; dips and sis mtimis i'ilPlQiI]:idapisii to tilt said 0511's and rotate the-same on said. verticalaxis.

5. in a device of time ciziSS described, in i-nmiiiimiioii, wheel, aplurality of cars 1 suppuri'eii on siiiri wheel to rot-ate on 21 hori-AU GU ST P. I' iUSE ER.

"i iitiiessss F. D. AQJMEN, Ems-m1) Bv iviiuasniimh

